"Unprofessional and loud nurse in A&E"

After a very long wait in accident and emergency department at Wishaw hospital my mother was taken through to the main department. I was able to go through with her due to her age and vulnerability. 

The staff at triage were excellent as were the doctors. The department was very busy and the staff were all working very hard. They spent time explaining things to both me and my mother in a calm and empathetic manner. We were shown respect and compassion which I am very appreciative of at such a worrying time. I would like to thank them for that as they were very busy. The majority of staff once available to do so were a credit to the department and the NHS. 

However…I have also come away worried about the practices of one particular nurse on shift. I can only imagine and hope they were either new to the profession or outwith their normal place of work. Even so I have decided this needs highlighted as to improve others experiences and overall help the department in turn for the delivery of care we received.

On admission in to a room the nurse in question was dealing with another patient close by and their tone was patronising and the loudness of voice was shocking. On leaving the room I could see that the patient had been left worried and I tried to make conversation from where I sat. The patient's clothes had been left scattered about the room, the instruments used to take samples were scattered about the table and other things just not cleared away (including sanitary products). However I put this down to the pressure the nurses must be under.

Unfortunately my mother took increasingly unwell and we were moved to a more appropriate area of the department. I here again experienced the same nurse, recognising their inexperienced manner. I now noticed that this could be due to a degree of immaturity and lack of working in this department. I now could not help to notice their particular manner as they went about her work. This was not just a worry in the way they dealt with patients but also in a way they spoke about colleagues. I found them to be abrupt and loud and spent the majority of their time either complaining about tasks they were expected to do, the people they worked with or how much they disliked working in such an awful place. At times the choice of doing the bare minimum or sweeping under the carpet was evident. Patients experiences in such a worrying time are so important! But as a relative I got a different overview.

I can only advise addressing the basics in care along with  the maturity of staff before advancement of working in advanced clinical areas. Respect of both patients and those you work with is surely a basic requirement which as seen by myself was a huge challenge for such a nurse. I do however wish them luck in finding an area where they could make a difference and one they are content in working in, as it was apparent they were out of place and depth. 

I again would like to commend the other staff on our visit as they really did stand out as a special bunch of individuals. I feel sorry that a member of their team doesn't seem to agree with this. I feel it is my duty to give feedback to help in such an essential area of work. Maybe an eye opener also for the nurse in question and those who could assist in improvements for all involved.